Secular India: Kolkata airport map redrawn to save mosque.

Kolkata airport: Map redrawn, land to be acquired, high-rises trimmed to save mosque

Mouparna Bandyopadhyay

Kolkata: Development runs deepâ€”but devotion runs deeper. So an ancient mosque on a tiny patch of 1,200 square feet of land right next to a runway has forced a redrawing of the entire Rs 2,000-crore map to upgrade Kolkata airport.
An extra 25,000 square metres has to be acquired, crores have to be spent on building a detour and several high-rise buildings have to be compensated because they have to knock off their top floors in line with the new plan.

The project, cleared yesterday by the Public Investment Board under the ministry of Finance is all set to go to the Cabinetâ€”after a very public spat between Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel and the Planning Commission over delaysâ€”and envisages extension of the second runway at the Kolkata airport.

The Kolkata airport has two runways: the main runway, 3,627m, that carries bulk of the air traffic, and a shorter one, 2,399 m, which is inadequate to service large aircraft, and so needs to be extended by another 440 m to the north.

But this is exactly where the 117-year old Bankra mosque â€” where on an average 30 people offer prayers each day under tight security â€” lies, less than 100 feet from the north end of the shorter runway, Also, the walls of the mosque cannot withstand vibrations caused by aircraft landing or taking off.

â€œWe have tried to negotiate with the masjid committee numerous times. We have also tried to give them land outside the port and offered to create a replica of the masjid elsewhere but to no avail,â€ says SPS Bakshi, Director (Projects), Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport. Result: the Airports Authority of India has decided to extend the runway towards the southern side.

â€œThis means we have to lease out more than 25,000 square metres of land to the state government for the diversion,â€ says another official of he AAI. The AAI will spend Rs 2 crore and the state government will provide Rs 3 crore. Also, an existing road, running from Kaikhali to Narayanpur (Rajarhat) will need to be diverted.

Then there is the issue of a new taxiway that needs to be constructed joining the northern end of both the runways. The taxiway needs to be at least 30 m wide to allow for wingspan of aircraft like A-380. As per the blueprint, the taxiway will intersect with the barb-wired path leading to the mosque. This poses a security threat and to circumvent it, a new path leading to the mosque has to be constructed. This, in all probability, will be a subway and will mean an extra Rs 20 crore, say officials.

â€œThe authorities are in constant dialogue with the members of the masjid committee to bring out a viable solution to the problem. The extension of the runway towards the south will mean diverting the Kaikhali road and paying compensation to the building owners whose buildings will now come under height restriction. AAI is already conducting a survey to mark the buildings,â€ said Deepankar Ghosh, leader of the AAI employees union.

Says Abid Ali, a senior influential member of the committee that runs the mosque, â€œThirty years ago the civil aviation department of India had evicted us from our land and relocated us at Bankra on the understanding that the mosque will never be demolished. We cannot let the mosque be destroyed.â€

Amitava Nandi, CPM Member of Parliament, Dum Dum, passes the buck to the Centre. â€œThe mosque is on AAIâ€™s land and the Centre should speak to the Imam in New Delhi to shift the structure to a different area. As of now the Centre is not taking any initiative about this. What can the state do?â€ he asks.

Thatâ€™s not all. Aviation regulations have height restrictions for buildings within 10 km of the runway. The extension of the runway to the south to keep the mosque intact means that multi-storeyed buildings that were permitted in the adjacent Rajarhat area, will now need to lose some of their top floors. â€œThis will require us to pay compensation amounting to crores, we are working this out,â€ said a senior AAI official. A mapping of the area is being done to identify which structures have to be trimmed accordingly.

In fact, this week, the DCL Housing Development Company is the first one to receive a notice to construct Ground plus 17 and not Ground plus 19 floors it had got clearance for. A detailed survey is under way to identify such houses that would have to conform to the height restrictions.

â€œWe will be extending one runway to 12,000 feet and the other one to 10,500 feet without touching the mosque. It is wrong to say that top floors of some buildings will have to go for the 10,500 feet runway expansion, no such thing will happen.

However, we are still negotiating to have the mosque relocated elsewhere and we will bear the cost of relocation as we usually do in case of shifting of religious structures. We had also taken up the issue with the West Bengal CM a couple of months back but then he had said that his hands were full so the issue could be addressed at a later stage. So we have not really lost hope on the issueâ€, said a senior official from AAI.

The ancient Panangatteeswarar temple at Panayapuram, 12 km from here, is facing the threat of being pulled down to facilitate the work on National Highway 45 linking Vikkiravandi with Thanjavur.

The National Highways Authority of India has placed border stones and painted markings on the compound wall of the temple, dating back to the Chola period. Built about 1,500 to 2,000 years ago by Rajendra Chola I, the temple finds a place in the hymns of Thirugnanasambandar. King Shibi Chakkravarthi (who offered his flesh to save a dove) had offered worship here.

The Airports Authority of India has written to the state government to shift a mosque from the edge of Calcutta airportâ€™s runway as it poses a â€œsafety and securityâ€ threatâ€¦

Calcutta airport officials have been urging the state government since 1986 to shift the mosque. â€œIt (shifting of the mosque) is a sensitive issue..â€ said Vinod Kumar, the district magistrate of North 24-Parganas. In 2005, unable to relocate the mosque, the authorities increased the length of the secondary runway by 440m towards the northern end.

â€¦The mosqueâ€™s authorities have reiterated that they would not agree to a shift.

So an ancient mosque on a tiny patch of 1,200 square feet of land right next to a runway has forced a redrawing of the entire Rs 2,000-crore map to upgrade Kolkata airport. An extra 25,000 square metres has to be acquired, crores have to be spent on building a detour and several high-rise buildings have to be compensated because they have to knock off their top floors in line with the new plan.

The Kolkata airport has two runways: the main runway, 3,627m, that carries bulk of the air traffic, and a shorter one, 2,399 m, which is inadequate to service large aircraft, and so needs to be extended by another 440 m to the north. But this is exactly where the 117-year old Bankra mosque â€” where on an average 30 people offer prayers each day under tight security â€” lies, less than 100 feet from the north end of the shorter runway, Also, the walls of the mosque cannot withstand vibrations caused by aircraft landing or taking off.

â€œWe have tried to negotiate with the masjid committee numerous times. We have also tried to give them land outside the port and offered to create a replica of the masjid elsewhere but to no avail,â€ says SPS Bakshi, Director (Projects), Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport. Result: the Airports Authority of India has decided to extend the runway towards the southern side. â€œThis means we have to lease out more than 25,000 square metres of land to the state government for the diversion..AAI will spend Rs 2 crore and the state government will provide Rs 3 crore.

The mosque is actually on AAI land!

Amitava Nandi, CPM Member of Parliament, Dum Dum, passes the buck to the Centre. â€œThe mosque is on AAIâ€™s land and the Centre should speak to the Imam in New Delhi to shift the structure to a different area. As of now the Centre is not taking any initiative about this. What can the state do?â€ he asks.

Thatâ€™s not all. Aviation regulations have height restrictions for buildings within 10 km of the runway. The extension of the runway to the south to keep the mosque intact means that multi-storeyed buildings that were permitted in the adjacent Rajarhat area, will now need to lose some of their top floors. â€œThis will require us to pay compensation amounting to crores, we are working this out,â€ said a senior AAI official.

The agency on Monday evening demolished parts of a mosque that it claims was illegally jutting into a Lodhi-era ruin of an arch at Andheria More in Mehrauli. But several locals pelted stones at DDA officials in protest. Among the protestors were young students who lived and studied in the madarsa run by the local imam, and residents who said they offer prayers regularly at the mosque.

The imam and members of the managing committee of the mosque, known as Masjid Dibiya Wali, said the land was transferred to the Delhi Wakf Board in a notification issued in 1970, and that the wall and the tin shed demolished by the DDA are part of the mosqueâ€™s land.

DDA officials, however, maintain it was a â€œregular driveâ€ to remove encroachment. â€œNo part of the heritage structure, or even the mosque, was touched,â€ a DDA official said.

In â€œsecularâ€ India, is there one law for Hindus and another for Muslims ? Does the government only understand the language of agitational politics and confrontation? How long the story will continue ?

The Archaeological department of India and the Supreme Court of India will have a field day with NHAI if they destroyed a 2000 year old monument.
There are rumors in Kerala, that only for Mosque's and BAR's are the Highway adjusting their alignment, while they destroy schools, churches and temples in the name of roads, I dont know much about it, but thats what I know.

Is the Mosque on AAI land? In that case, how come the mosque is 117 years old? Dum Dum Airport was an open ground next to the Dum Dum Armoury, and has seen flights since before independence, but I don't know who owned that land how much. So what exactly happened?

In any event, if AAI is willing to relocate that mosque elsewhere, the mosque authorities (not sure who owns that property) should cooperate. I doubt this mosque has any historical or archaeological value (that is for ASI to decide). How difficult is it to cooperate instead of obstinately sticking to that mosque where only 30 people pray? This issue has been doing the rounds for decades if I am not mistaken.

Imagine, If i didn't posted the Description and the details of Discrimination in post No.3. What would have happened in this thread ? So called, self proclaimed liberals and seculars would be giving justification to save mosque.

Well I have seen temples demolished for extending railways in WB. If they have to remove that mosque, they have to do it. Just build another one, exactly similar in looks and occupancy, at some other place. What's the big deal about it?

Well I have seen temples demolished for extending railways in WB. If they have to remove that mosque, they have to do it. Just build another one, exactly similar in looks and occupancy, at some other place. What's the big deal about it?

Click to expand...

Easier said than done.

â€œWe have tried to negotiate with the masjid committee numerous times. We have also tried to give them land outside the port and offered to create a replica of the masjid elsewhere but to no avail,â€ says SPS Bakshi, Director (Projects), Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport

Click to expand...

Will secular Mamta will take some strong measure to demolish Mosque and reallocate at another place ? You know the Answer!! Don't you ?

When just a handful of them are a big hurdle in construction of Ram Mandir (Too many historical references to prove that site belonged to Ram), I wonder what will my country look like when they turn majority in 2040. Whatever you say, they're having a field day in here because of liberal and impotent hindus, that we are. Indians and pakis are same genetic stock but we're Secular Republic of India and they're Islamic Republic of Pakistan. This proves that you take half students in a classroom and give them this, they turn into fundamentalist and take other half, give them other religions they turn secular. Secularism isn't in fabric of this religion. You can't construct a place of worship of other religions in Gulf. This country is secular because of Hindus, the day they turn into minority, India will start evolving to be next Pakistan, Hell for minority hindus. Negotiating with Imam of an invader religion in country, how funny? Will pandits/imams give bread/jobs/infrastructure to youth? I don't see a very bright future for this country as long as the brainwashed followers of "Doctrine to spread arab culture by sword" exist in this country.

The squeaky wheel gets the oil - Muslims wherever they are tend to be more vociferous about their religion. Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains and everyone else tend to put law of the country above their religion.

Obviously the imam of the mosque either needs a lesson in Islam or doing it on purpose to suit other agenda.

---------------------------------

It is permissible to relocate a mosque to another area if there is a need to do so. This can be achieved by selling the first mosque and using the money from the sale to pay for the purchase or construction of another mosque.

The money must be used only for another mosque. This is because the original funds or donations were allocated for the establishment of a mosque, and that is what the money from the sale of the first mosque must be spent on. The money cannot be allocated for another purpose, even if there is a need for money elsewhere.

The permission of the original donors for the first mosque does not have to be sought. When they donated the money to establish the first mosque, that money ceased to be their property. It became, effectively, Allah's property.

The former mosque property can be sold to a Muslim or a non-Muslim. It makes no difference, since the physical property and structures ceases to be those of a mosque upon sale. Nevertheless, the people in charge of the mosque's trust should endeavor not to sell the property to a party that they know is going to use the property for purposes that are contrary to Islamic teachings, since that would be helping others in falsehood.

Ahmad b. Hanbal was asked about a man who built a mosque but then wanted to relocate the mosque somewhere else. He said: "If he wishes to move it because he fears a burglary might take place or because the mosque's location is not a clean one, then there is no objection to his relocating it."

Ahmad b. Hanbal then cited as evidence that `Umar, when he was Caliph, ordered `Abd Allah b. Mas`Ã»d to relocate the mosque of Kufah from one location to another.

Ahmad also said: "If the mosque becomes too small to accommodate its congregation, then there is no objection to relocating the mosque to more spacious grounds.

We can also see where the Prophet (peace be upon him) said to `A'ishah: "If it were not for your people being so recently in a state of ignorance, I would have torn down the Ka`bah and rebuilt it at ground level."

The Ka`bah is indisputably the most important Islamic endowment on the face of the Earth. Nevertheless, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said that he would have torn it down to rebuild it in an improved manner, and the only reason he refrained from doing so was on account of the fragility of faith of the large number of recent converts to Islam. This clearly shows the permissibility of dismantling the building for some beneficial purpose.

The Ka`bah is situated on a location that is special in and of itself. For the average mosque, this is not the case, so there is no difference between replacing the structure on the same locality or rebuilding it on another locality, if the welfare of the people is served by moving the mosque elsewhere. Ibn Taymiyah speaks about this matter at length (MajmÃ»` al-FatÃ¢wÃ¢ 31/212-251) and concludes that it is permissible to move properties in trust to a new location for an overriding consideration of benefit.

If the mosque endowment is administered by the state, as is the case in many Muslim countries, then the state officials are the ones who must weight the props and cons of relocating the mosque and conducting the feasibility studies to ensure that the funds will be sufficient to carry the project through to its completion. Otherwise, the mosque committee which is entrusted with managing the mosque's affairs will have to undertake this responsibility. The local people are the one's who know best their circumstances and their capabilities, and they can best determine the possible consequences of any proposed course of action regarding the relocation of their mosque.

Obviously the imam of the mosque either needs a lesson in Islam or doing it on purpose to suit other agenda.

---------------------------------

It is permissible to relocate a mosque to another area if there is a need to do so. This can be achieved by selling the first mosque and using the money from the sale to pay for the purchase or construction of another mosque.

The money must be used only for another mosque. This is because the original funds or donations were allocated for the establishment of a mosque, and that is what the money from the sale of the first mosque must be spent on. The money cannot be allocated for another purpose, even if there is a need for money elsewhere.

The permission of the original donors for the first mosque does not have to be sought. When they donated the money to establish the first mosque, that money ceased to be their property. It became, effectively, Allah's property.

The former mosque property can be sold to a Muslim or a non-Muslim. It makes no difference, since the physical property and structures ceases to be those of a mosque upon sale. Nevertheless, the people in charge of the mosque's trust should endeavor not to sell the property to a party that they know is going to use the property for purposes that are contrary to Islamic teachings, since that would be helping others in falsehood.

Ahmad b. Hanbal was asked about a man who built a mosque but then wanted to relocate the mosque somewhere else. He said: "If he wishes to move it because he fears a burglary might take place or because the mosque's location is not a clean one, then there is no objection to his relocating it."

Ahmad b. Hanbal then cited as evidence that `Umar, when he was Caliph, ordered `Abd Allah b. Mas`Ã»d to relocate the mosque of Kufah from one location to another.

Ahmad also said: "If the mosque becomes too small to accommodate its congregation, then there is no objection to relocating the mosque to more spacious grounds.

We can also see where the Prophet (peace be upon him) said to `A'ishah: "If it were not for your people being so recently in a state of ignorance, I would have torn down the Ka`bah and rebuilt it at ground level."

The Ka`bah is indisputably the most important Islamic endowment on the face of the Earth. Nevertheless, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said that he would have torn it down to rebuild it in an improved manner, and the only reason he refrained from doing so was on account of the fragility of faith of the large number of recent converts to Islam. This clearly shows the permissibility of dismantling the building for some beneficial purpose.

The Ka`bah is situated on a location that is special in and of itself. For the average mosque, this is not the case, so there is no difference between replacing the structure on the same locality or rebuilding it on another locality, if the welfare of the people is served by moving the mosque elsewhere. Ibn Taymiyah speaks about this matter at length (MajmÃ»` al-FatÃ¢wÃ¢ 31/212-251) and concludes that it is permissible to move properties in trust to a new location for an overriding consideration of benefit.

If the mosque endowment is administered by the state, as is the case in many Muslim countries, then the state officials are the ones who must weight the props and cons of relocating the mosque and conducting the feasibility studies to ensure that the funds will be sufficient to carry the project through to its completion. Otherwise, the mosque committee which is entrusted with managing the mosque's affairs will have to undertake this responsibility. The local people are the one's who know best their circumstances and their capabilities, and they can best determine the possible consequences of any proposed course of action regarding the relocation of their mosque.

Obviously the imam of the mosque either needs a lesson in Islam or doing it on purpose to suit other agenda.
It is permissible to relocate a mosque to another area if there is a need to do so. This can be achieved by selling the first mosque and using the money from the sale to pay for the purchase or construction of another mosque.

Click to expand...

Why even care to relocate it? Let the mosque be demolished. If there's a temple in middle of jungle used by no fewer than a dozen men and govt decides to build an airport there then will I ever protest against demolition or ask goverment to relocate it? There are thousands of mosque like that, Just 100 yrs old doesn't qualify to be a heritage site. Why can't muslim majority think this way? Why not ruthlessly demolish it.

Every imam and for that matter, every muslim thinks that whatever he's thinking is what allah considers right. That's where fundamentalism starts. Allah wants growth and progress. I don't think the Allah has any special interest in that mosque, he has thousands in his name. Better demolish it to set an example.

Imagine, If i didn't posted the Description and the details of Discrimination in post No.3. What would have happened in this thread ? So called, self proclaimed liberals and seculars would be giving justification to save mosque.

Click to expand...

You havent provided that link that it has been destroyed, rather a marker was kept on its boundary wall, I dont know what has happened after the marker was kept, did they go for a civil suit, what did the Archaeological department do etc etc? Lets not push that line jose, wont work.

Why even care to relocate it? Let the mosque be demolished. If there's a temple in middle of jungle used by no fewer than a dozen men and govt decides to build an airport there then will I ever protest against demolition or ask goverment to relocate it? There are thousands of mosque like that, Just 100 yrs old doesn't qualify to be a heritage site. Why can't muslim majority think this way? Why not ruthlessly demolish it.

Click to expand...

Change the law, it is the same in India and USA regarding heritage sites, look it up.
When Hindu's dont think the same way, why should muslims.

Forget mosques, temples and heritage sites, have you ever had your own land being acquired by the government? Do you know the compensation, do you know how people used to get compensation, and how it is now? Do you know how it feels, when the market price of land is much more in value than government paper price, and the governement only gives in government price, not market price. Do you know that you loose 50%-70% money if the government acquires your land, the list goes on and on.